"More or less, but not entirely." Long Yuan put the book back on the shelf, then made tea for them both.
Gu Yuena took a sip, then asked in surprise, "Since when did you start doing things like this? I thought—"
"What did you think? That I was a brute with nothing but muscle in my head?"
Wasn't he?
In the end, Gu Yuena didn't say it aloud. She took another sip of tea and used the chance to change the subject. "All right, let's talk business. What's your situation now?"
"Do you remember Na'er? Just as you created her using the essence of your spiritual power, I used the essence of my bloodline to create this body. It's just that he's still very frail, nowhere near as strong as my original body."
Hearing this, Gu Yuena used her spiritual power to examine Long Yuan. Unfortunately, she had sealed herself, so she couldn't detect anything unusual. With no other choice, she gave up.
"All right. Can you tell me what happened after I left?"
Long Yuan nodded. "Of course."
"After you left the Divine Realm, those gods sealed me in the forbidden grounds of the Divine Realm. Later, God of Destruction wanted to expand the Divine Realm and increase its power, which brought him into conflict with Sea God Tang San. The two fought a great battle. Unfortunately, God of Destruction's wife, God of Life, didn't support him, and so he was defeated. But just then, a powerful Space-Time Turbulence struck the Douluo God Realm. Destruction and Life fought with all their might and managed to hold it back for a while. I took the opportunity to break the seal on the forbidden grounds and tried to get my revenge while the Divine Realm was badly weakened. Unfortunately, I fell short at the last moment. Goodness and Evil showed up halfway through, joined forces with Tang San, and unleashed the Sword of Three Realms Judgment to defeat me. I poured my Divine Core and bloodline power into Tang San's newborn son, but Tang San sealed them away. To stop the Divine Realm's immortal aura from killing his son, Tang San sent him to Douluo Continent. But because of me, the Divine Realm couldn't resist in time and was swept away by the Space-Time Turbulence too."
After saying all that in one breath, Long Yuan took a sip of tea.
Gu Yuena looked utterly astonished. She'd only known that the Divine Realm seemed to have disappeared; she hadn't known any of these secrets.
"So Tang Wulin is Tang San's son?"
At the thought, a trace of killing intent flickered in Gu Yuena's eyes, but it quickly vanished.
Long Yuan noticed, of course. He grabbed her wrist. "Hey, hey. Why do you seem even more bloodthirsty than me? Tang Wulin's just a kid, after all. I wouldn't stoop to attacking him. Besides, Tang San left a divine sense clone inside him. It can intervene three times in a crisis, and even wield the power of a Second-Level God. He can also summon the Seagod Trident, a Super Divine Artifact. Do you think you could beat him right now?"
Long Yuan's words brought Gu Yuena back to her senses. Truthfully, she didn't want to attack Tang Wulin either.
Long Yuan gently patted the back of her hand. "All right, don't overthink it. We have plenty of time. The Divine Realm is gone, and apart from those planes watching us from the outside, there aren't any greater enemies."
Long Yuan didn't tell her about the Plane Master. After all, could she really make a difference seven years from now?
He had his reservations. The original story's version of her had been a complete train wreck, and even with him around, he couldn't guarantee things would turn out much better.
Gu Yuena keenly picked up on what he'd said. "Other planes are watching us? Do you mean there are unknown enemies beyond Douluo Continent?"
"That's right. My divine sense felt eyes watching us from beyond before. I'm certain they weren't coming from Douluo Planet. The universe is vast, and all kinds of planes could exist out there."
Gu Yuena nodded, then felt a little envious.
Her spiritual power was clearly far stronger than her "brother's," yet now things had turned upside down. He had not only gained divine sense, but his cultivation was far higher than hers, too.
As for her, she was just an ordinary Soul Master with a Silver Dragon Martial Soul. Even using one of her trump cards came at a price.
She'd simply paid dearly for her lack of information.
"For now, focus on making your way at Eastsea Academy. Stick to your own plans, and I'll have your back."
Faced with Long Yuan's suggestion, Gu Yuena found herself nodding along.
For some reason, being around Long Yuan made her feel... safe?
"Classes don't officially start until tomorrow. Do you have anything planned in the meantime?"
Gu Yuena shook her head. "Teacher Ye Yingluo only had us introduce ourselves, then dismissed us. She didn't make any other plans."
"Then let's go for a walk. I'm bored out of my mind anyway."
Gu Yuena happily agreed.
The academy was bustling, but most of the people around were first-year students. The students in other years all had their own things to do.
Quite a few people recognized the two of them as they walked.
After all, one was a new teacher, and the other was the strongest genius assigned to Class One—the first to be placed there. And both of them were handsome and beautiful, so they naturally drew plenty of attention.
They walked for half an hour before reaching the entrance to a snack street, the busiest one in Eastsea City.
"Sniff, sniff—"
"That smells delicious."
As they strolled, a tempting aroma caught Gu Yuena's attention. Right then, an untimely sound rang out.
"Gurgle—"
Long Yuan heard it clearly. He glanced at Gu Yuena's flat stomach and teased, "I didn't realize you had such a big appetite."
"I do not!" Gu Yuena pinched his arm, then turned and walked into the shop.
"Hurry up and follow me. I'm going to make you pay through the nose today!"
Long Yuan glanced at the sign—Braised Pot Beef—and followed her in with a smile.
"Boss, two portions of braised pot beef."
Before Gu Yuena could speak, Long Yuan called out to the owner.
"Coming right up!"
Soon, two portions of braised pot beef, two bowls of white rice, and two side dishes were served.
Braised pot beef was a specialty of Eastsea City, perfect with rice.
Long Yuan and Gu Yuena dug in, eating six bowls of rice between them before finally putting down their chopsticks.
"Well, well. I didn't expect you to eat more than me."
At Long Yuan's teasing, Gu Yuena immediately bristled. "Hmph! I may eat a lot, but if you had a real body, I bet you'd eat even more."
Hearing those words, delivered like a powerless little pout, only made Long Yuan laugh harder.
"Beep, beep—beep, beep—"
The Soul Guidance Communicator rang. Long Yuan glanced at the caller's name and raised a hand to signal for Gu Yuena to be quiet.
"Hello, Tower Master Lu. Why are you suddenly calling me on the Soul Guidance Communicator?"
"Brother Long, Your Excellency Leng Yaozhu just arrived. She's asking for you by name."